Neil Patrick Harris looks forward to marriage

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for AMC)

Neil patrick Harris is looking forward to marrying his longterm lover David Burtka because he wants to be able to call his partner “husband”.

The actor has been secretly engaged for the last few years, but last summer, he insisted he had no plans to exchange vows with TV reporter Burtka after same-sex marriages became legal in New York. But Harris has now sparked speculation he’s done a U-turn and does intend to make their relationship official.

He tells Out magazine, “I’m not the biggest fan of the word ‘partner’: It either means that we run a business together or we’re cowboys. ‘Boyfriend’ seems fleeting, like maybe we met two weeks ago. I’ve been saying ‘better half’ for as long as I’ve been able to.

“I think it’s a little self-deprecating and clearly defines that we’re in a relationship, but it would be nice to say ‘my husband’.”

The couple is parents to twins, who were born in 2010 via a surrogate mother.